1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a scent presentation method, a scent presentation apparatus, and an olfaction improving apparatus for presenting a scent through pulse ejection.
2. Description of the Related Art
The human sense of smell (olfactory sense) is indispensable for detecting dangers and the like in everyday life, such as the odor of an oil stove, the odor of a gas leak, a burning odor from a fire, or the odor of spoiled food, for example.
It is known that olfactory capabilities of humans of the modern age are gradually declining due to aging or improved environmental sanitation, for example. Further, an overall wellness or decline in health of a person can be determined based on the olfactory capabilities of that person.
Thus, the sense of smell is important in various fields for realizing a safe and prosperous living environment in modern society.
In recent years, scent presentation methods and scent presentation apparatuses for stimulating the human olfactory capabilities are subject to research and development. For example, a technique is known for ejecting a plurality of different types of scents through pulse ejection in a predetermined order over a designated period through computer control (see, e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2014-219644).
Note that pulse ejection of a scent refers to the ejection of scents at short time intervals.
According to recent reports, a decline in olfactory capabilities may appear as early symptoms of diseases such as Alzheimer-type dementia. It is desirable to prevent such decline in olfactory capabilities to enable continued engagement in various hobbies and entertainment involving olfaction, for example.
One example study has been conducted that suggests a method of improving olfactory capabilities. In this study, the olfactory capabilities of wine experts who habitually make conscious efforts to smell odors were compared with the olfactory capabilities of wine novices (see Wendy V. Parr et al.: Demystifying Wine Expertise: Olfactory Threshold, Perceptual Skill and Semantic Memory in Expert and Novice Wine Judges; Chem. Senses (July 2002) 27 (8), pp. 747-755). In this study, an experiment was conducted where two groups of scents each consisting of various spices and fruits were sequentially presented to the participants after which the participants were asked to determine whether a scent included in the second group was also included in the first group. The results of the experiment revealed that the olfactory recognition capabilities of the wine experts were superior to those of the wine novices. The above findings suggest that habitually making a conscious effort to smell odors can lead to improvement of olfactory capabilities.
Thus, there is a demand for a scent presentation method and a scent presentation apparatus for improving, maintaining, and enhancing olfactory capabilities.
Note that while techniques are known for presenting a scent to a user through pulse ejection for the purpose of preventing the user from becoming adapted to the scent, these techniques are not suited for effectively improving, maintaining, and enhancing olfactory capabilities of the user.